Meter



C. C, THOMAS.

METER.

APPUcMxoN mED nc.21.19|o.

Patented May 27, 1919.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE@ CARL C. THOMAS, OF MADISON, WISCONSI.

METER;

Patented May 27, 1919.

Application lled Detmbel" 27, 1910. Serial No. 599,456.

To all wlw/n.. t may rfonffern Be it known that l, CARL C. THoMAs, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Madison, in the county of Dane and State oil Wisconsin, have invented a certain new and useful Meter, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to meters.

It relates particularly to thermal fluid meters such as set forth in the patent to Carl C. Thomas, No. 946,886, though it is not limited to said meter. Meters of this type measure the flow of fluids b v means of thermal or thermo-dynan'iic effects. Heat is imparted to the flowing fluid al a determinabl(` rate and the effect of the im parted heat on the fluid is measured to de termine the rate of flow.

When the steam or gas to be measured is Wet, the meter must be provided with means for drying the gas in order to attain accurate results according to the method above referred to.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a meter with means for drying wet steam and gas prior to measuring thesame'..

Another object is to' provide a meter with means for separating the moisture from the Wet steam and gas and for heatingr the gas before it is measured.

A further object is to provide a Simple, elilcient andeconomical apparatus for ac eomplishingy the above mentioned results.

Other objects and advantages of the invention willv hereinafter ap ear.

Thel aeeonipanyin drawings illustrate an embddmeneofwhe mventon.

I n said drawings:

Figure l'is a longitudinal, sectional view of:f an improved- Ameter having drying means associated therewith, the measuring means beingfctinstructed in accordance with my UnitedStates Letters Patent No.1,043,983. y Figt2showsa detail transverse section of thedeflecting andmoisturecollecting plates, andl the .inner casingto which same are connected; the section"` bein taken on the inclined.sectionJ line mw o Fig. 1;

Fig. 3' is af'fr'gmetary longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a, drier, illustratin `arrnotlified construction of delecting and m isture-dolflecting pilates;

.Iiti'gffv 4 511m a ont elevation o sueh plates; and

Eig. 5 shows a fragmentary section of the drier illustrating an alternative heater construction.

When the steam or gas to be measured contains moisture, some of the heat supplied by the heating unit of the measuring means, such as set forth in Patent No. 946,886, is used in convertingr the moisture into vapor` or steam. This introduces inaccuracies and accordingly means must be provided for insuring that the gas flowing through the measuring means is dry.

Then steam or gas flows along a pipe together with water, a large portion of the, water may be, and generally is, found flow ing along the inner surface ol' the pipe. The space between outer casing l and inner easing 5 serves to intercept? such water. Thrl water which is carried mechanically sus pended in the steam or gas is driven down the inclined corrugations in plates G, which thus provide for a continuous flow of the Water in almost its original direction of How, thus avoiding spattering and reemixing with the gas.

The meter herein Vdescribed has means associated therewith for drying the steam and gas in which as much as possible ofthe contained Water is thrown out of the steam or gas mechanically, and then the partly dried steam or gas is subjected to the action of heating means, whereby Such steam or gas asses from the drier in dry condition, and, 1n the case of steam, in a slightly superheated condition, while in the case of gas the water vapor still contained inr suchf gas is in the' formof sli Atly, superhelit'ed steam, The'specific heats o "'superheatsed steam and of moet gases which are to lie' metered are so nearly` equal and the proportion of Water reniainingaf'ter the mechanical separation is so small, that it is not necessary ordinarily to know the proportionv oli water to gasin the gas,` which Finally issues.

Referring first to Fi s. land Qf, 1- desigmates the main casing o `the drier, 2A a se aratin chamber therein and 3' a dryi'n cham er therein: 4' desi naties a| watercolecting chamber into Wliiehfthewater separated from thel gas orsteam? drains and from which suchwater may be drawn 0E at intervals. 5 designates an innercasin Within chamber 2; 4the 'inlets end of whic hasA an oblique month, as shown, andfin front of this mouth are located deleeting and moisture-collecting plates 6, 6. A l'lange 7, preferably inclined slightly downward as shown, covers the greater portion of the water collecting chamber 4, thereby preventing the steam or gas passing through the device from sweeping over the surface of the water in this chamber 4, while permitting water which trickles down the collecting plates (i, to pass into said chamber. The mouth 8 of the collecting chamber is preferably just beyond the end oi these collecting plates. The inner casing 5 is preferably somewhat smaller than theinternal diameter of the casing l., as shown, so that said inner casing is jacketed by the steam or gas passing through the apparatus, and so is maintained at about the mean temperature of such steam or gas, anddoes not add to the free moisture in the steam or gas by condensation of moisture upon its walls.

Within the drying chamber 3 various drying means may be provided, but I prefer to employ a series of pipes 9 through which steam or superheated water may be passed, 1'. c., water at a temperature above 2120 F. For this purpose I have shown, at the upper and lower ends of chamber 3, tube sheets 10 into which the said tubes i) lit, these tube sheets being covered by bon nets 11 inclosing between themselves and the tube sheets, chambers 12. A pipe 13 serves to supply steam or superheated water to the upper chamber 12, and a pipe 1-1 serves to carry away steam or water from the lower chamber 1Q. In the construction shown in Fig. 1, the lower bonnet 11 and the lower tube sheet 10 are within the easing; that is to say, they are located within a cylindrical pocket 15, in the lower portion of the casing, and are free to move up and down therein a short distance to allow free expansion and contraction of the tubes 9, the pipe 1+i passing through a gland 15. But this refinement in construction is not always necessary, and in Fig. 6 I illustrate a construction wherein the lower bonnet, here designated by reference numeral 11, is outside of the casing.

In Fig. 2 I illustrate one desirable construction of the moisture-collecting plates 6. According to this construction the said plates are corrugated and are arranged face to face with the corrugations mis-matching, the said plates being perforated along the crests of their eorrugations. In the alternative construction shown in Fig. 3, the `collecting plates, here desi ated'by numerals 6, are approximately at, but are perforated, burs 6l being pressed out from the plates during the stam ing of the perforations therein; which urs hel to collect the moisture into drops of suflicient size so that, when such drops fall, they may pass through the stream of gas or steam, without being caught up thereby. In both constructions the perfor-ations of the plates are staggered with respect to each other, so that the steam or gas must Vl'ollow a tortuous course in passing into the inner casing 5, a result of which the bulk ol its contained moisture will be thrown against the surface of the collecting plates and will trickle down the surfaces of said plates, collecting into drops thereon, and thence falling into the collecting chamber 4.

The measuring means, shown at the right of Figll, comprises a main conduit 1G containing resistance conductors 17 and 1T of two electric thermometers, and containing also heating coils 18. The meter also has a byepass passage 19 and valves 20 whereby the steam or gas may be by-passed around the thermometers and heating coils of the meter, or may be passed through the thermometer coils and heating coils, as desired, it being unnecessary in most cases to meter the flow continuously, measurement at reasonably frequent intervals being all that is reu ui red ordinari ly.

In the operation of the meter the steam or gas enters the chamber 2 at the left hand end of Fig. 1, and, passing through the periorations of the collecting plates G, (or 6` Fig. 3) parts with the greater portion of its moisture, such moisture collecting on the surfaces of said plates and trickling down into the collecting chamber 4. The nearly dried steam or gas is then subjected to the action of the heating pipes 9, whereby any remaining free moisture is evaporated, after which such dried steam or gas passes hrough the measuring means.

It will be understood that the steam or superbeated water supplied to these pipes 9 is supplied. at a temperature higher than that et the steam or gas entering the drier. It will be observed that the action of the drier is, or may be, continuous, Whether the metering is continuous or not. The drier therefore serves, in the case of steam, as an eflicient means for supplying saturated or even superheated steam.

It will thus be seen that a meter is provided having means associated therewith for insuring that the steam or gas to be measured is dry before entering the chamber containing the measuring means. The drying and heating means is simple, economical and eliicient. It is combined With a measuring means and is a further develop-ment in the art of measuring the flow of steam or other gases and vapors by imparting heat thereto and determining the effect of the heat upon the flowing gas.

It should be understood that the structure shown is for purposes of illustration only and that other structures may be devised whieh embody the invention and which come within the spirit and scope of' the appended claims.

What I claim is 1. A fluid meter for measuring wet fluids comprising means for separating part of the moisture from a Istream of' the fluid being measured, means for heating the fluid to i'llrther dry the same, means for imparting heat to said dry fluid at a known rate, and means for determining the effect of said imparted heat whereby the rate of flow of fluid is determined.

A fluid meter for measuring wet fluids. comprising means for separating the moisture from a stream of' the fluid being measured to dry the same, means for imparting heat to said dry fluid at a known rate.y and means for determining the effect of said imparted heat on the fluid whereby the rate of flew of fluid is determined.

A fluid meter for measuring wet fluids comprising means for heating a stream of the fluid being measuredl to dry the same, means for imparting heat 'te the dry lluid at a known rate, and means for determining the effect of said imparted heat whereby the rate of flow of fluid is determined.

4. The combination with a fluid meter for measuring the flow of' fluids by thermal means of means for drying the fluid entering the meter.

5. A mete-r for measuring the flow of fluids comprising means for drying the stream of fluid being measured. and thermal means for measuring the flow of dry fluid.

6. A meter for measuring the flow of fluids Cen'iprising means for heating the stream of fluid being measured to dry the same and thermal means for measuring the flow of dry fluid.

7. A meter for measuring the flow of fluid.` comprising means f'or separating moisture from the stream of fluid being measured, means for heating the Huid to dry the same, and thermal means for measuring the flow of dry fluid.

8. A meter for measuring the flow of fluids comprising means for drying theI stream of fluid being measured, and means for measuring the flow of dry fluids comprising eleetrie heating means for heating the dry fluid and temperature measuring means for measuring the temperature rise thereof.

9. A meter for measuring the flow of fluids comprising means for heating the stream of fluid being measured to dry the same, means for imparting heat to the dry fluid, and means for determining the effect of the heat transfer between the Huid and the second heating means to measure the rate lof flow.

10. A meter for measurii'ig fluids comprising means for heating a stream of the fluid to dry the same, eleetrie heating means for imparting heat to the dry fluid, and means :for determining the effeet of the heat transfer between the electrie heating means and the fluid to determine the rate of flow.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL C. THOMAS. IVitnesses FLORENCE TURNEAURE, ELsm REIMANN.

Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

